Mali Island – Diving, Spearfishing and Sea Snakes

2 – 3 April 2013

Google Earth – Mali Island, Fiji

We had a grand opportunity of checking out the Great Sea Reef underwater while in Mali Island. Our Ligaulevu Village host Leone Vokai operates a brand new dive shop called the Great Sea Reef Divers and he invited us to go diving with him. It had been raining non-stop for like the past 6 weeks in the northern part of Fiji and when we got to Mali Island, the rain blessedly stopped. It was time to see the GSR underwater so off we went in Leone’s fiberglass boat with John Robinson as our skipper.

While in the Great Sea Reef Divers base camp in Ligaulevu Village, Stella puts together the dive gear as the Freunds prepare to dive the world’s third largest barrier reef!

Leone Vokai owner of Great Sea Reef Divers brings the Freunds diving the marine protected area of the GSR.

We departed Ligaulevu Village early in the morning after breakfast to have the incoming tide bring in clear water. But with the past 6 weeks of constant downpour, the water was what I called “crystal green” with a deep layer of fresh water on the surface. Nonetheless, it was our first look at the GSR and first time to dive the waters in Fiji. Leone brought us to the marine protected area nearest Mali Island.

Coral Reef crevice in the Great Sea Reef with diver silhouetted against a coral cave.

Diving the Great Sea Reef.

Lifting text from the WWF South Pacific website, the Great Sea Reef locally known as Cakaulevu, is the world’s third longest continuous barrier reef system or the third longest reef in the southern hemisphere. The GSR runs for over 200km from the north eastern tip of Udu point in Vanua Levu to Bua at the north west edge of Vanua Levu, across the Vatuira passage, veering off along the way to hug the coastline of Ra and Ba provinces and into the Yasawas. As it snakes its way across the western sections of the country’s sea, the reef system takes on different local names but is part of one barrier reef system.

Whitetip reef shark in the coral reef of the Great Sea Reefs.

The next day, Leone and the men from the village brought us spearfishing in their traditional hunting grounds. Upon reaching the area, a huge pod of spinner dolphins greeted us and were bow riding as the men prepared to go fishing. I didn’t get into the water and for two hours, I saw these very dolphins go back and forth not 10 meters away from me. I learned from past experience to stay where I was and admire them from this safe distance, because the minute I get into the water to swim with them, they’ll be gone like a flash.

A pod of spinner dolphins bow riding with the fiberglass boat.

For two hours, 5 men from the village went spearfishing for reef fish to bring home to their families. Living in rural Mali Island, these subsistence ﬁshermen rely on the coral reef for fish as their primary food source. If they have a good day and catch enough, they sell their fish to the local Labasa Market in the mainland to supplement their livelihood and income. There were about half a dozen reef sharks way below the free divers as they moved from reef to reef looking and spearing reef fish. Luckily, no sharks came for their bounty.

Earlier on, we were told about a solitary mangrove in the middle of a shallow sandy area far away from any island that at low tide attracts hundreds of sea snakes. Well, guess where we badgered Leone to go once the men finished spear fishing and the tide was lowering at the height of noon when they were all tired and hungry? It was bizarre and awesome! A solitary mangrove tree indeed far away from the islands.

Lone mangrove in the shallows in the middle of the sea in the Great Sea Reefs filling with banded sea kraits at low tide.

Yogi was in banded sea krait heaven. We have never encountered a mangrove tree like this in any of our travels and made this experience quite special. As we excitedly got off the boat, all our strong free diving spear fishermen stayed behind. Not one of them liked the idea of us getting near the snakes. They would exclaim loudly as Yogi photographed the mangrove tree very close to the snakes who were all over him swimming from all sides trying to slither up the tree for their siesta. It was simply fantastic. Leone could not believe how Yogi was unafraid saying the sea snake was their totem, and they left it as far away alone as possible.

Banded sea krait in a tight bundle above the water line as those coming in from the water found their way to huddle with their comrades.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Stella was born in Manila, Philippines in 1965. She studied anthropology but ended up in advertising, producing radio and TV commercials for 7 years. After quitting advertising, she ventured into the freelance world in Manila producing video documentaries for a publishing house, government agencies, non govenmental organisations, and the academe. She moved on to producing books and had a stint at working with foreign production companies visiting Manila. Stella, now based in Cairns, produces photo stories with her husband Jürgen Freund.

Testimonials

“I took Yogi’s photo class with a bunch of friends and family of various different skill levels. Yogi has a lovely, gentle approach to teaching with no ego or B.S. Everyone in the course got something awesome out of it and it was a heap of fun playing with all his toys and gadgets. He was great at explaining complex stuff and made sure no one got left behind.”

Dave Mainwaring – Port Douglas, QLD

“An enjoyable and entertaining fun-course of expertly organised subjects and venues, inspired by Yogi’s enthusiasm and generous sharing of his photographic knowledge and experiences. Thanks Yogi, Stella and Tai.”

Annette Corsi – Innisfail, QLD

“This masterclass was absolutely brilliant and it was obvious that a great deal of planning and preparation had been done prior to the course, making it run extremely smoothly. The locations were amazing with great opportunities for photographing a huge range of wildlife. The skills I developed over the duration of this course have improved my photography immensely. Yogi and Stella are warm friendly people with great patience and knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and was sorry when i…

Stacey Clark – Bendigo, VIC

“It was exciting, refreshing, educational, inspiring and quite entertaining. Juergen’s extraordinary experience made the long days, not long enough for everyone. I have been a photographer for years at a professional level. And as an amateur, I highly recommend this Masterclass.”

Jorge Martins – Cairns, QLD

“I was inspired to take pictures and to improve my eye for capturing a special moment in nature… The course is so well planned to provide opportunities for that special picture in that special place, and each day we were challenged to apply new techniques to get the shot. Unforgettable and such solid step in my learning experience.”

Chico Birrell – Brisbane, QLD

“Juergen Freund is a master at his craft and he tailored his response carefully to each of the participant’s personal skills. He never became impatient even with questions that to him must have appeared inane. I personally benefited greatly from his instruction. I would also like to emphasise that Stella was also a pillar of strength and she contributed greatly to the overall success of the program.”

Robert Prettejohn – Cairns, QLD

“Take a small disparate group of individuals, from a variety of geographical and workplace backgrounds; shake gently in a minibus, pour into a variety of magnificent tropical photo venues; add good food, company and accommodation, and you have the starting blocks for Yogi and Stella’s Masterclass in Nature Photography. Some essential didactic advice and suggestion smooths the way for the main focus on individual mentoring and hands on learning. The advantages of digital imaging in allowing trial…

Gresham Clapham – Cairns, QLD

“I had the best time and learnt so much from both Jürgen and Stella… and the others! And visited a beautiful part of the world I had never been too… what a bonus! Thank you! This will go down in my memories as one of my best holidays EVER!!!”

Chris McKinnon – Tamworth, NSW

“What an incredible workshop! I learned so much about wildlife, camera equipment, techniques and postproduction. Yogi is a fantastic teacher and a remarkable human being. His soft spoken but expert coaching improved my photography immensely and this course was as inspirational as it was informative. I will forever have the memories and skills (and let’s not forget photos!) that I picked up during this workshop. Thanks so much for a truly amazing experience.”

Jenna Rumney – Port Douglas, QLD

“The method was Rogerian with a lot of personal responsibility for learning and largely apprentice mode of instruction. This method suits me. It’s the first face-to-face course I have done and Yogi was a true gentleman. I would do further courses without hesitation as it was an outstanding learning experience.”